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Crybaby Usagi's Magnificent Transformation
| Length = ≈22 min | Season list = Sailor Moon Classic Dark Kingdom arc | Prev = | Next = Punish Them! The House of Fortune is the Monster Mansion | Episode list = List of Sailor Moon episodes }} This was the first episode of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon in the original Japanese run. In North America, this was also the first episode, however it was retitled, "A Moon Star is Born". = Summary = Tsukino Usagi, a 14 year old eighth grader who learn that her destiny is greater than she could even imagine. When she meets a mysterious talking cat, Luna, she learns that she can transform into the superherione, Sailor Moon. It is up to her to defeat the evil being that has possessed Osaka Naru's mother and send it back to The Dark Kingdom. With the assistance of the enigmatic Tuxedo Kamen, can Sailor Moon do it? = Full Plot Summary = We pan over Tsukino Usagi who is fast asleep in her bed. She introduces herself as a 14 year old who is in eight grade and a bit of a clumsy crybaby. Her mother yells that it is past 8 o'clock and she realizes that she is late for school. Racing down the stairs, she brushes her teeth as she asks her mother why she didn't wake her up sooner. Her mother replies that she tried many times and Usagi answered each time. Usagi doesn't remember this an almost forgets to take her lunch. She says goodbye as she races out the door wondering why the morning has to come because she is still sleepy. On her way to school, she sees a group of boys harassing a cat. Usagi scares them off and comes to the rescue of a cat who has a set of band-aids on her forehead. When Usagi removes them, she sees a "crescent moon bald spot". The cat flips from her grasp and seems to analyse her. Before anything else can happen, she hears the school bells and runs off because she is officially late for school. We get another shot of the cat looking in her direction with curiosity. Once Usagi arrives at Juuban Municipal Junior High School, she is scolded for being late and made to stand out in the hallway as punishment. Her stomach grumbles and after checking both directions, she decides to eat her lunch early since she missed breakfast. Her teacher catches her and says that this is why she gets bad grades, showing her a test that she only scored 30% on. When lunchtime rolls around, Usagi is depressed and tells her best friend Naru about it. Another of their school-mates, Umino shows up and asks about Usagi's test, putting her in a deeper depression. He shows off his 95%, stating that he didn't study which causes Usagi to become even more upset. In order to cheer her up, Naru and Umino tell her about a superheroine named Sailor V who has been breaking up jewel heists. Usagi shows excitement, but then reveals that she has no idea "what" a Sailor V is. Umino describes her as a "heroine in a school uniform" and believes that she secretly works as a secret agent for the police department. Naru sympathizes with the jewelry thieves because jewels are beautiful. They share their wishes for different types of jewelry and Naru remembers that her mother's store is running a sale and the two of them decide to go after school. A dark world appears before our eyes and we see a gorgeous woman sitting on a throne before her subjects. Her hands dance around an oracle as she reminds them of their mission: to find the legendary silver crystal and to collect energy for their ruler. Jadeite appears and requests that he and his minion Morga be allowed to complete this mission. We meet Usagi and Naru at O•SAP. The store is filled with several women trying on many pieces of jewelry. Naru's mother yells into a megaphone telling everyone to try on anything they want and Naru is surprised by her behavior. We quickly find out that it is not Naru's mother, but Morga. The jewelry is collecting energy and Jadeite laughs at how foolish the humans are as he gathers it in another dimension. When Naru greets her mother, she offers Usagi a ring that's usually 500,000¥ (over $6,200) for just 30,000¥ (about $372). When they shout out this discount, they are instantly mobbed by several women. Usagi and Naru make their way out and Usagi is sad because she really wants the ring, but can't afford it on her allowance. When Naru suggests that she should ask her father for an advance on her allowance, Usagi reminds her that she failed her English test. Usagi heads home and regrets not studying harder. She wads up the test and throws it over her should telling it to die. The ball of paper hits a young man on the top of his head and he tells her that it hurt and calls her "Odango-atama" (Dumpling Head). When she turns to apologize, he reads her grade and tells her to study harder. Usagi rips the paper from his grasp, gives him a raspberry and storms away. She stops and looks back, calling him a weirdo to herself before she continues on her way. The camera returns to the young man who removes his sunglasses and continues to stare at the jewelry store. One the way home, Usagi passes the Game Center Crown and notices a Sailor V Video Game poster in the window. She thinks that it must be nice to be Sailor V and wishes that she could be just like her. She cries because she doesn't want to take her test home and we see the same cat from the morning watch her walk down the street. The cat speaks, stating that she has finally found Tsukino Usagi. We arrive at the Tsukino residence where Usagi is greeted by her mother, who wastes no time asking about her test. Her mother says she bumped into Umino and he told her that he received a 95% on his and asks to see Usagi's. She attempts to come up with an excuse, but eventually hands it over. Her mother kicks her out of the house because of the bad score. Usagi cries outside to let her back in, but her mother says that she can't hear her. Shingo, Usagi's younger brother shows up and asks her if she got locked out again. He says he wants a better sister and she threatens him with a Sailor V Kick that lands her knee into the door. Back at O•SAP, the energy drain is starting to take a toll on the women at the store. They start fainting left and right and Naru begins to get worried. When she asks her mother what is happening, she realizes that her mother has been possessed. Usagi has finally been let inside and is tired from all of the crying and decides to take a nap. We see the window open behind her and the shadow of a cat flows into the room. The window slams, waking Usagi and she is shocked to see the cat with the crescent moon bald spot standing on her bed. When the cat says that it's rude to call it a bald spot, Usagi futher freaks out and flings herself off the bed. She introduces herself as Luna and tells Usagi that she's been looking for her. She thanks her for removing the band-aid from her crescent moon since it dulled her sensory powers and she couldn't talk. Usagi thinks she is dreaming. Luna proves that she is not dreaming by materializing a jeweled compact for her. Luna explains that there are strange things happening in Tokyo, an enemy the police can't fight and Usagi is the one that needs to fight them. Her ultimate mission is to find the princess and her other warrior companions in order to defeat the enemy. Usagi says that it sounds cool, but she still doesn't believe what Luna is saying. Luna tells her to say, "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" and Usagi transforms into Sailor Moon. She starts crying because she is overwhelmed, but is quickly quieted when her Odango Covers begin to shine and she hears Naru calling for help. We return to O•SAP where we see Naru being choked by her mother. Morga transforms into her real form and tells her that her mother is locked in the basement and that she will kill the both of them now that she has been found out. Enter Sailor Moon who demands that she release Naru. When Morga asks who she is, Sailor Moon becomes momentarily flustered, but then recites: Morga is unimpressed, drops Naru and commands her slaves (the energy-drained women) to rise and serve the great ruler. They come at Sailor Moon with several attacks and Sailor Moon is afraid to fight back. Luna appears and tells her that she has to defeat the monster. Usagi cries because she is bleeding and when Morga tries to attack her a rose appears and stops her. We meet Tuxedo Kamen who tells Sailor Moon that crying won't solve anything. She rebuts that she doesn't want to fight and begins to cry even harder. Her Odango Covers activate sending a shockwave through the room which knocks out all of the possessed women. Luna tells Sailor Moon to throw her tiara and say "Moon Tiara, Action!". When she questions this, Luna yells at her to hurry up and do it. Sailor Moon throws her tiara and it cuts through Morga, turning her to dust. We see Jadeite lose the ball of energy he has been building up and he calls Morga an idiot. Tuxedo Kamen congratulates her and exits and Sailor Moon comments on how gorgeous she thinks he is. The next day, Usagi's classmates discuss how Sailor Moon appeared and saved their lives--all thinking it was a dream. When Naru tells Usagi to listen, she asks them to be quiet because she is tired and needs to sleep a bit more. She goes back to sleep as the screen fades. = Cast = = Music = Featured music for this episode. = What DiC Did = Last cell of each opening. To start off, the openings are VERY different. This isn't new because most countries in which Sailor Moon was translated, changed the opening theme as well as the movie playing behind it. I would, however, like to note the fact that they give it a "Star Wars" kind of entrance... A major thing I don't like about the DiC entrance is that they introduce Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus instantly, when they do not even appear in the series until much later. The original opening only shows Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars. And after the title screen rolls, we are already off track. First cell after title screen. Cue the segment that ruins the whole series. This was NOT in the original. DiC assembled this from clips throughout the series and reveals information we do not originally learn until episodes 35 and 44. DiC still skips a small clip after their huge opener. So, it takes DiC just over a minute to ruin the season. We are still not matched up yet as they skip a small clip where Usagi introduces herself. Usagi is late for school. The dialogue between then is similar in both languages, however, a common thing in Japan when leaving a household is to say "Ittekimasu" which means "I'm leaving". DiC says, "Bye mom! See ya after school!" Usagi runs down the street wishing it was Saturday because she is so tired. She stops when she hears/sees three kids harassing a cat. DiC uses glowing effect to wow viewers. This little scene between Usagi and Luna is cut-up a bit. When Luna jumps from Usagi's grasp, DiC speeds up her back-flip a little and changes to a different shot from the original. DiC makes Luna talk after Usagi runs off to school: "Could she be the one?" The original version, Luna just stares ominously. DiC makes cuts to this scene. When Usagi gets to school, she is forced to stand out in the hallway as punishmentStanding out in the hallway is common punishment in Japan for being late. Sometimes students are made to hold signs or buckets of water in order to further humiliate them. You wouldn't be late for school again, would you?. Since she missed breakfast, she decides to eat her food earlyEating your food before lunchtime seems to be taboo in Japan. and gets caught by Haruna-sensei. DiC instead has her talking to other classmates about Sailor V, which in the original, she knows nothing about yet. Haruna comes out of the classroom and shows her that she got a 30 on her test and DiC has Haruna tell Usagi to have her mother sign it and return itSign and return a test?! DiC was definitely attempting to gear this toward children.. This section is REALLY different, so here is the script: As you can see the conversations go in two different directions. Usagi is still in school and this would be lunch/recess. When DiC conversation ends, the have it as though they are leaving school to go to Naru's, mother's jewelry store. Also the fact that Usagi doesn't know anything about Sailor V, but DiC keeps pushing that she does. The part that annoys me the most is the valley-girl conversation that DiC often uses throughout the series. DiC uses unnecessary effect in Beryl's oracle. We are now taken to The Dark Kingdom where Queen Beryl questions her several minions about the silver crystal. DiC decides that we should see something in her oracle. She tells everyone that if they cannot find the silver crystal, then they should at least have human energy to give to their ruler. Jadeite appears and requests that she leave it to him and his minion, Morga. She grants this. First cell of next scene. A shot is cut of an Azuba Juuban District building is cut and we find ourselves at OSA•P, the Osaka's jewelry store. For some reason, DiC zooms out from the store (where the original zooms in) and then the first scene showing some women trying on jewelry pans from right to left (where the original pans from left to right). We find out that the jewelry is sucking energy from the women and Jadeite is collecting it. Shots here are cut for some reason. Naru introduces Usagi to her mother and her mother offers Usagi a diamond ring on an outrageous discount. When Naru and Usagi scream the price difference, they are mobbed by the rest of the women in the store. Usagi and Naru crawl out from underneath the crowd and Usagi is upset because she can't afford the ring. Naru suggests asking her father for it, but Usagi knows that with her horrible grade, she would never get the money. DiC instead says that Usagi is tired and is going to go home and take a nap. Usagi stops outside the store to stress about her test once more and decides to just get rid of it. She balls it up and throws it over her shoulder. Let's see how DiC magnifies Mamoru's callousness: DiC cuts a significant glance. So now we have our first meeting between Usagi and Mamoru. As Usagi leaves, she looks back and it shows Mamoru staring at the jewelry store. DiC cuts this. Furthermore, Usagi says, "what a strange guy". DiC says, "he sure is cute." Before the scene changes, we see Mamoru once more, remove his glasses to stare harder at the jewelry store. He says nothing in the original, but DiC has him say, "something about that girl..." Usagi stops in front of the Crown Game Arcade and notices there is a Sailor V video game poster hanging in the window. DiC once again cuts the three shots of Sailor V (see above conversation with Naru and Umino). Usagi wishes she could be like Sailor V because she doesn't have to worry about taking tests. She cries because she doesn't want to go home and walks away. We see Luna peeking out from behind a sign and she says, "Tsukino Usagi, finally I've found you." DiC has her say, "I can't believe it! This crybaby? She's the one?" DiC cuts a shot of the Tsukino's name plate. After a commercial break, we are at the Tsukino residence. DiC cuts a brief shot of the name plate outside. When Usagi's mother finds out the score she got on her test, she kicks her out of the house. DiC says that she needs to go back to the library to study. DiC further cuts this scene where we meet her brother, Shingo. Usagi attempts a Sailor V Kick and rams her knee into the door. Back at OSA•P, Naru sees all of the customers starting to faint from the energy drain. She asks her mother what's going on and learns that her mother is not really her mother. Back at the Tsukino residence, Usagi has finally been let inside. DiC finally gets to enact the nap they were talking about at the jewelry store and says that Usagi is tired from all the studying. In the original, she is really tired from all the crying she did outside! We see the window open to Usagi's room as she attempts to fall asleep and the shadow of a cat appears on her back. She is awaken when the window pane slams shut and freaks out when she sees "the cat with the moon-shaped bald spot". DiC makes it appear as though Luna just recognizes her or has a list of names, but we find out in the original that the bandage on Luna's forehead was dulling her sensory powers and she couldn't speak. So when Usagi removed the bandage, Luna could sense instantly that Usagi is the one she's been looking for. I'm going to take this time now, to dicuss Luna's voice. When the voice actress is good, she is much, MUCH too old for Luna. Luna is only about a year younger than Usagi in the original series, but DiC gives her a British nanny voice! Usagi thinks she is dreaming up the talking cat and Luna decides to prove that she is not dreaming. She does a back-flip and materializes the Transformation Brooch and tells her it is a gift. Usagi immediately tries it on and models in front of the mirror while Luna tries to tell her why she needs her help. In the original, Luna never tells her who she is going to transform into, but DiC gives Luna a big speech about how she is Sailor Moon and that she needs to help the Queen of the Moon. Luna finally gives her the magical words: "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!DiC's words are the same, but they drop the "Make Up!" part." DiC cuts a cells in transformation. Throughout the Sailor Moon series, DiC shaves out cells and erases lines that have anything to do with sexuality. The clip above shows that even a brief shot of Usagi's butt cheeks gets cut out. The transformation sequence is also sped up a great deal, thus losing some of the drama of her very first transformation. She freaks out more when she is finished transforming and her Odango Covers start flashing. Usagi hears Naru calling for help. Luna tells her that Sailor Moon must go save her. DiC cuts Naru getting choked. The next scene takes us to a view of Azuba Juuan and we hear Naru screaming for help. DiC cuts a few shots of Morga is choking her, though in the wide shots you can clearly see what is happening! Sailor Moon appears: DiC cuts more of Naru getting choked. DiC cuts broken bottle attack. Morga possess the women and send them after Sailor Moon. As Sailor Moon dodges, there is a scene cut where a woman comes after her with a broken bottle. DiC makes it look like Morga attacks her instead. Luna appears and tells her that she has to defeat the youmaTranslates to "demon" or "monster".. Sailor Moon cries and screams as Morga attempt to attack her. Morga's attack is stopped by a rose. Enter Tuxedo Kamen. If it's possible for Tuxedo Kamen to get any cheesier, DiC finds a way. Sailor Moon cries because she doesn't want to be a warrior and this activates her Odango Covers once more sending a shockwave through the room that knocks out the possessed women. Luna tells Sailor Moon to throw her tiara and say "Moon Tiara, Action!DiC changes this from Moon Tiara, Action to Moon Tiara, Magic." DiC speeds this sequence up as well. Morga turns to dust and we see Jadeite lose his energy source, calling Morga an idiot. Tuxedo Mask offers some more words. And EVEN more thanks to DiC: DiC adds background. The next day at school, all of the girls are talking about the dream they had about Sailor Moon saving them. When Naru asks Usagi what she thinks, she quiets her and tells her that she is really tired and to let her sleep. The same transition is used to fade out, but DiC adds a colorful background. Prepare yourself for Sailor Says... So, not only is this INCREDIBLY lame, but it is also completely unnecessary! DiC added these end segments in order to provide morals to the younger audience they were trying to target with this series. We also get footage from other episodes and footage that has been cut from the original series. Now we come to the transition count. I didn't mention above, but most of the time when there is a scene change, DiC would add in over-the-top transitions. The total count for this episode was 13. DiC's transitions. = Did You Notice? = = Japanimation Wiki Reviews = = Footnotes = Category:Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon